It's Like Acid
by Selphiebunny
Summary: Axel wakes up every morning hating his life. It's a hard habit to break. Sora finds babysitting much more thrilling than he should when he meets a boy that practically demands his attention. AxelxRoxas, RikuxSora.


_I don't own KH or its characters. There.  
Axel wakes up every morning hating his life. It's a hard habit to break. Sora finds babysitting much more thrilling than he should when he meets a boy that practically demands his attention.  
_AU; akuroku, some soriku  
Depression, stalking, underage sex. Maybe.

* * *

**It's Like Acid  
**

There is light, bright and obnoxious, shining through his window. The light wakes him up from a sleepless night of insomnia, painful and aching. He sits up and shrugs off the thin covers, turning slightly to see the other half of the bed vacant. Not surprising. His arm thrusts out to knock over the alarm clock before it can begin a shrill attack on his ear drums. The bed creaks like it's broken as Axel stands on shaking legs, his body stumbling to the kitchen. There is a ripped piece of paper taped to his fridge, and really, he already knows what it's going to say.

_Hey. Work. Be back late. Left you breakfast in the microwave. Don't forget to eat._

Demyx knows him too well.

Toast, kind of burnt, and a few pieces of sausage. How sweet.

Axel bypasses the toast for coffee and eats one sausage. It's overcooked and rubbery, because Demyx can't cook for shit. He leans against the counter, sighing and rubbing his head.

He feels broken, still. There is a place in his chest that feels hollow, like his lungs are led and he's just a sack of bones and skin and organs that barely work anymore. His thoughts are quick and jumbled, and they don't mean much.

His eyes, dull he knows, flick up to the stupid cat clock Demyx bought last year as a joke that stuck. It's almost time for him to go to work. But, he's not sure he's going.

He drags himself back to their room, sliding on jeans and a black shirt, stuffing his cell phone and keys into his pockets and throwing the empty mug into the sink on his way out. It probably shatters, but he's already outside, the cool air assaulting his nose. He's always had allergies, so it's no surprise he sneezes.

And sneezes. Through Axel's sneezes, he doesn't hear the apartment door across from his own slowly open. He doesn't see the person that comes out, doesn't hear the voice ask if he's okay? When he does look up, his eyes are puffed red and raw, and his nose stings like a bitch.

There is a pair of blue eyes, deep like the sky and clear like the ocean, staring at him. They are attached to a short statured boy, younger than himself, with blond hair sticking up every which way.

"Do you need a tissue?"

Axel would have said, mind your fucking business, but instead what came out is "I like your eyes."

He doesn't expect the smile in thanks.

* * *

Sora hates babysitting. Actually, he hates babysitting Tidus, because Tidus is mostly old enough to not need a babysitter and is an asshole. Tidus's parents do not trust him at _sixteen_ to be by himself for two weeks while they go to a national blitzball convention. Sora is stuck dealing with the little bastard on his own, suffering through the whining and nagging and all the shit Tidus sprouts about blitzball constantly. He talks to Sora like they are friends, except Sora knows better. He will never be friends with Tidus. But for a hundred dollars, he'll fake it to make it through these torturous weeks.

On the fourth day at the boy's house, he comes home from college and is greeted by another person sitting beside the blond athlete on the couch.

This boy, he has long silver hair. And Sora's mouth? It's pretty dry. His brain is shut down, his hands are sweating. This boy? He stares at Sora, his greenjadeaqua eyes piercing through Sora's soul. They probably aren't, but that is what it feels like.

The moment is broken when Tidus's whiny voice interrupts their staring match. "Hey Sora, what's up? This is my friend Riku, he's helping me with calc. You don't mind, do ya?"

Sora wants to say, nonononononofuckNO.

It's pretty close, what he says. "No."

He bolts to the kitchen in what he hopes is not a conspicuous manner. It probably is. He starts pulling out food, not really paying attention to what it is he pulls out from the pantry. "Do you want something to eat?"

He watches Tidus shrug, and the Riku person stand and stretch. His eyes are glued to the pale as snow skin that is revealed when the shirt rides up. Somewhere, angels are crying. Tidus knows this kid? _Tidus_?

Riku looks like he should be held above such trash, like he should skip school altogether and become an artist or a musician, or Sora's boyfriend. He doesn't look like he's sixteen and Tidus's friend. So, Sora decides to pry. "Hey, Riku. How old are you?"

And Riku turns his head, giving Sora a glimpse of perfect white teeth to go along with the rest of Riku's perfectness. "I'm seventeen."

Okay, okay… Sora nods, throwing together a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sora is nineteen years old. That's not… that's not too bad, right?

He's turning twenty tomorrow but that's still fine. His eyes follow Riku as he walks to the bathroom. They follow Riku when he sits back down; they stay on him while he and Tidus work on homework.

They never leave him the rest of the night.

* * *

Axel doesn't end up going to work, as planned.

As soon as he and the blond boy part ways, Axel rushes back into the apartment and goes straight to his room to take out his sketch pad from under the bed. He locks the door and doesn't open it until the next morning because Demyx never comes home.

The rest of the night is filled with charcoal and oil pastel, and the colors blue and yellow.


End file.
